Toilet and Urinal Drain Unclogging Device and Method

ABSTRACT

A toilet and urinal drain unclogging device and method enabled thereby includes a plunger assembly, a central cylinder assembly and a rotating flexible rod assembly. By manually pushing the plunger assembly into the central cylinder assembly, a rotating flexible rod emerges from the bottom of the central cylinder assembly. The rotating flexible rod enters the drain where it is caused to contact and break up or remove the clog within the toilet or urinal drain.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Provisional U.S. PatentApplication No. 61/240,493 filed Sep. 8, 2009.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

The invention described in this Non-Provisional U.S. patent applicationwas not the subject of federally sponsored research or development.

FIELD

The present invention pertains to a drain unclogging device and method;more particularly, the present invention pertains to a device and methodfor removing a clog from a plugged drain pipe or plumbing fixture whichdirects fluid from the bowl portion of a toilet or a urinal.

BACKGROUND

Clogged toilet drains represent one of the most irksome problemsencountered by home owners. Because of the commonality of the problem ofclogged toilet drains in homes, many homeowners keep a flexible toiletplunger or “plumber's helper” in their bathrooms or in a closet. Whileflexible toilet plungers may be satisfactory for some minor toilet drainblockages, a flexible toilet plunger is essentially useless for astubborn toilet drain blockage.

Other homeowners use a small flexible toilet auger (usually a longspring) or a light weight flexible sewer cable, such as marketed underthe trademark TURBO SNAKE™, when attempting to unclog a clogged drainline from a toilet. Such flexible toilet augers or sewer cables are noteasy for most homeowners to use because of the need to manually turn theflexible toilet auger or sewer cable as the user both guides and pushesthe lengthy flexible toilet auger or sewer cable into the clogged drain.A flexible toilet auger or sewer cable, if not used property, may damagea drain, a plumbing fixture or the finish on the ceramic portion of thetoilet. In addition, the rotary motion of a flexible toilet auger orsewer cable in standing water in the bowl of a toilet causes thestanding water to splash out of the bowl onto the floor surrounding thetoilet.

Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for an easy to use deviceto remove clogs from the drains of residential toilet, which clogscannot be easily removed with a flexible toilet plunger, small flexibletoilet auger or a lightweight flexible sewer cable.

Further, in many commercial factory or office buildings, a full-timemaintenance staff is retained to quickly remedy frequently recurringproblems. One of the most frequent problems faced by commercial buildingmaintenance personnel is a clogged toilet drain or a clogged urinaldrain. Such clogged toilet or urinal drains frequently produce anoverflow of water onto the floors of a lavatory. The overflow of watercan damage floors and floor coverings. Standing water meant fortransport to a sewer line may even seep down through the floors to theceilings of lower floors. To deal with major drain clogs in toilets orurinals, it may take hours for a professional plumber to arrive at thecommercial factory or office building to unclog the clogged toilet orurinal drain. In the meantime, water overflowing from the toilet orurinal bowls can cause damage to floors, ceiling panels or wall panels.Further, those tenants occupying space in the commercial factory oroffice building will become unhappy because of disruption or distractionof their workers reducing their ability to log productive time.

Thus, there remains a need in the art for an easy-to-use device whichcan be used in commercial factory or office buildings to quickly unclogclogged toilet drains or urinal drains.

SUMMARY

The easy-to-use toilet or urinal drain unclogging device and method ofthe present invention can be used in both residences and commercialfactory or office buildings to quickly unclog clogged toilet drains orurinal drains.

The toilet or urinal drain unclogging device and method of the presentinvention includes three portions, all connected one to another. Thefirst portion is a plunger assembly. The second portion is a centralcylinder assembly. The third portion is a rotating flexible rodassembly.

When the user of the disclosed toilet and urinal drain unclogging deviceplaces the device into the opening of a toilet or urinal drain andpushes the plunger assembly into the central cylinder assembly, thebottom end of the rotating flexible rod assembly emerges from thecentral cylinder assembly and enters the clogged drain. When a clogbreaker on the end of the rotating flexible cable assembly engages theclog within the drain, the rotating action of the flexible rod and clogbreaker will break up and/or remove the clog. When the clog is broken upor removed the drain is able to run free again.

Following the clearing of the clog from the toilet or urinal drain, theplunger assembly may be withdrawn from the central cylinder assembly.This withdrawal of the plunger assembly from the central cylinderassembly draws the flexible rod portion of the rotating flexible rodassembly back into the central cylinder assembly.

A still better understanding of the present invention will reveal thatwithin the central cylinder assembly is a spinner sub-assembly. In thepreferred embodiment, the spinner sub-assembly is located on top of therotating flexible rod assembly. The width of the spinner sub-assemblyspans the internal diameter of the central cylinder assembly.Accordingly, the arms extending outwardly from the body of the spinnersub-assembly engage a set of helical grooves formed on the inner surfaceof the central cylinder assembly. The spinner sub-assembly is rotatablyconnected to the bottom of plunger assembly. Thus, the plunger assemblydoes not spin as the spinner sub-assembly passes through and is causedto rotate by the contact with the set of helical grooves within thecentral cylinder assembly.

The bottom of the spinner sub-assembly is non-rotatably connected to therotating flexible rod assembly. When the spinner sub-assembly turns, sotoo does the flexible rod turn. Thus, as the ends of the arms extendingfrom the body of the spinner sub-assembly pass through the set ofhelical grooves within the central cylinder assembly the flexible rod iscaused to both rotate and to move axially out of the central cylinderassembly. The rotating and axially moving flexible rod moves into thetoilet drain or urinal drain and breaks up and/or removes the clog.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

A still better understanding of the construction and operation of thetoilet and urinal drain unclogging device of the present invention maybe had by reference to the drawing figures wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of the preferred embodiment of thedisclosed invention;

FIG. 2A is a side elevational view, in partial section, of the rigidtubular portion of the central cylinder assembly showing the set ofhelical grooves formed therein;

FIG. 2B is a phantom schematic showing the formation of a set of helicalgrooves formed through the rigid tubular portion of the central cylinderassembly;

FIG. 2C is a top plan view of the cap which fits on the upper end of therigid tubular portion of the central cylinder assembly;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the spinner sub-assembly portion of therotating flexible rod assembly in the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view, in partial section, of the spinnersub-assembly engaging in the helical grooves within the rigid tubularportion of the central cylinder assembly;

FIG. 4A is an exploded view of an alternate construction of the spinnersub-assembly;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the bottom boot sub-assembly whichfits on the lower end of the central cylinder assembly;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view, in partial section, of one type of aconnection between a clog breaker and the end of the flexible rod;

FIG. 7 is a side perspective view of a first alternate embodiment of thedisclosed invention;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view, in partial section, of a secondalternate embodiment of the disclosed invention;

FIG. 9 is a side perspective view of a third alternate embodiment of thedisclosed invention;

FIG. 10A is a side elevational view of a catch tee used in the fourthembodiment of the disclosed invention; and

FIG. 10B is a side elevational view of the fourth embodiment of thedisclosed invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

A still better understanding of the ease of use and the utility of thedisclosed toilet and urinal drain unclogging device of the presentinvention may be had from an understanding of its basic construction.With this knowledge of the basic construction of the disclosedinvention, the further utility provided by the arrangement of theelements in the various embodiments of the disclosed invention may bebetter understood.

As previously indicated the disclosed toilet and urinal drain uncloggingdevice includes three assemblies. The three assemblies are connected oneto another. Each assembly includes multiple parts. These threeassemblies are the plunger assembly, the central cylinder assembly andthe rotating flexible rod assembly. From the following brief descriptionof how the disclosed invention is used to unclog a drain, theinter-relationship of the three assemblies, one to another, will becomemore apparent from a description of the method of unclogging a drainenabled by the disclosed invention.

It is anticipated that the user of the disclosed toilet drain and urinaldrain unclogging device will begin the process of unclogging a drain byholding the exterior of the central cylinder assembly with one or bothhands. The user will both guide and insert the exposed bottom end of therotating flexible rod assembly, which exposed bottom end of the rotatingflexible rod assembly extends from the lower end of the central cylinderassembly, into the drain opening at the bottom of the toilet or urinalbowl.

The rotating flexible rod assembly is further inserted into the toiletor urinal drain until the flexible boot on the bottom boot sub-assemblypositioned on the bottom of the central cylinder assembly contacts thedrain opening at the bottom of the toilet or urinal bowl.

With the flexible boot in contact with the drain opening, the user isnow ready to exert manual force on the top of the plunger assembly. Byholding the central cylinder assembly with one hand, the user pushesdown on the handle located on the top of the plunger assembly with theother hand. This manual pushing force on the handle on top of theplunger assembly causes the rotating flexible rod assembly to both exitthe central cylinder assembly and to turn within the drain pipe orplumbing fixture as it moves outwardly from within the central cylinderassembly. The turning of a clog breaker on the end of the rotatingflexible rod assembly, which is now within the toilet or urinal drain,will break up or remove the clog which is preventing water from passingtherethrough.

Returning to a description of the three assemblies, the first assemblyis the plunger assembly. The function of the plunger assembly is toreceive manual force by engagement with the user's hand. In its simplestform, the plunger assembly is an extended length rod with a handlelocated on the top end of the extended length rod. The bottom portion ofthe extended length rod of the plunger assembly extends into the centralcylinder assembly and is rotatably connected to the top of the rotatingflexible rod assembly.

The second assembly is the central cylinder assembly. A betterunderstanding of the central cylinder assembly may be had by anunderstanding of the functions of its inner and outer surfaces. Aspreviously indicated, the outer surface of the central cylinder assemblyallows the user to hold and properly position the toilet drain andurinal drain unclogging device of the present invention with respect tothe toilet or urinal drain opening. The inner surface of the centralcylinder assembly includes two or more sets of helical grooves. Thehelical grooves function as a cam surface when engaged by a spinnersub-assembly positioned on the top of the rotating flexible rodassembly. Thus, the sets of helical grooves both cause the rotatingflexible rod assembly to travel through the central cylinder assemblyand to rotate while it moves outwardly from within the central cylinderassembly.

Attached to the bottom of the central cylinder assembly is the bottomboot sub-assembly. The bottom boot sub-assembly includes an elbow and aflexible boot. As explained above the flexible boot engages the openingin the toilet or urinal bowl which leads into the drain or plumbingfixture. If desired, the central cylinder assembly and the bottom bootsub-assembly may be formed as a single unit. In addition, the flexibleboot assists in positioning the toilet and urinal drain uncloggingdevice properly with respect to the drain opening.

The third assembly is the rotating flexible rod assembly. At the top ofthe rotating flexible rod assembly is the spinner sub-assembly. Thespinner sub-assembly is non-rotatably connected to the flexible rodwhich enters the toilet or urinal drain. Thus, as the spinnersub-assembly turns so too does the flexible rod turn. At the oppositeend of the flexible rod is the clog breaker. The clog breaker may havemultiple shapes. Those of ordinary skill in the art may have aparticular preference for the type of clog breaker used on the end ofthe flexible rod. Available shapes of suitable clog breakers include abulbous spring, a ball, or a set of cutting blades.

With this understanding of the construction of the three assemblies, itis now possible to provide a further explanation of how the threeassemblies work together, one with respect to another.

With the bottom end of the rotating flexible rod assembly inserted intothe drain and the flexible boot of the bottom boot sub-assembly engagingthe top of the drain opening, the user is now ready to unclog the drainby causing contact of the clog breaker with the clog within the drainand then the exertion of both linear and rotating force against the clogby the clog breaker. Support for the bottom end of the central cylinderassembly is provided by the interfitment of the substantially conicalflexible boot within the opening to the drain. Support for the top endof the central cylinder assembly is provided by the hand of the userholding the top of the central cylinder assembly as it extends outwardlyfrom the bowl of the toilet or urinal.

With the unclogging device now in position, the user exerts downwardforce on the plunger assembly. As the bottom of the plunger assembly isrotatably connected to the top of the spinner sub-assembly, whichspinner sub-assembly is in turn supported by a set of helical grooveswithin the central cylinder assembly, the arms which extend outwardlyfrom the body of the spinner sub-assembly, which act as a cam followerwhen in contact with the set of helical grooves which acts as a cam,impart a rotating motion to the body of the spinner sub-assembly.Further, as the set of helical grooves provides a path through theinterior of the central cylinder assembly, the rotating spinnersub-assembly is also caused to pass through the interior of the centralcylinder assembly by the manual force placed on the handle at the topend of the plunger assembly.

Because the rotating flexible rod assembly is non-rotatably connected tothe spinner sub-assembly, the flexible rod rotates together with spinnersub-assembly. Because the flexible rod extends through the bottom bootsub-assembly on the bottom of the central cylinder assembly, the nowrotating flexible rod passes through the bottom boot sub-assembly andinto the drain until the clog breaker on the end of the flexible rodengages the clog. Additional force on the plunger assembly will causeadditional force to be placed on the clog by the clog breaker to eitherbreak up the clog or cause the clog to pass through the drain.

With the clog now removed from the drain, the user is then able towithdraw the flexible rod from the drain by holding the central cylinderassembly with one hand and pulling the plunger assembly up and into thecentral cylinder assembly with the other hand. Pulling the plungerassembly out of the central cylinder assembly will cause the rotatingflexible rod assembly to be withdrawn back into the central cylinderassembly while rotating in the opposite direction. This reverse movementand opposite rotation of the rotating flexible rod within the drain pipeor plumbing fixture will provide additional forces which act to break upand/or remove the clog. Thus, the toilet and urinal drain uncloggingdevice is dual acting in that it works both going into the drain pipe orplumbing fixture and exiting the drain pipe or plumbing fixture. Forstubborn clogs, it has been found that multiple strokes of the plungerassembly into and out of the central cylinder assembly may be neededwhile the flexible boot remains against the drain opening.

With this basic knowledge of the construction and operation of thedisclosed invention it is now possible to better understand the drawingsdescribing the preferred and alternate embodiments of the disclosedinvention.

As may be seen from the preferred embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, thetoilet and urinal drain cleaning device 10 of the present invention maybe designed to collapse into a easily stored device suitable forplacement in a closet or possibly behind a bathroom door. FIG. 1includes the three assemblies of the present invention as explainedabove.

Extending outwardly from the top of the central cylinder assembly 40 isthe plunger assembly 20. The plunger 20 assembly is connected to therotating flexible rod assembly 60 which resides, in part, within thecentral cylinder assembly 40. That portion of the rotating flexible rodassembly 60 which is not within the central cylinder assembly 40 ispositioned alongside the central cylinder assembly 40 and retained by aclip 19. Such positioning allows most of the plunger assembly 20 to bewithin the central cylinder assembly 40 to minimize the length of theunclogging device 10 for ease of storage.

The flexible boot 52 portion of the bottom boot sub-assembly 50 on thelower end of the central cylinder assembly 40 forms that portion of theunclogging device 10 which engages the drain opening on the bottom ofthe toilet bowl or urinal bowl. For ease of handling, the entire centralcylinder assembly 40 may be covered with a foam grip 42. Alternatively,the foam grip 42 may simply be a slidable foam band encircling thecentral cylinder assembly 40 and positioned at a location most suitableto the user.

As may be seen in FIG. 2A, the central cylinder assembly 40 includes arigid tube 44 with a set of helical grooves 46 formed therein. The setof helical grooves including two paths 46A, 46B through the rigid tubemay be formed on the inside surface of the rigid tube 44, as shown inFIG. 2B. A cap 47, sized for mounting on the top of rigid tube 44appears in FIG. 2C. The cap 47 includes a hole 49 through which theextended length rod portion 22 of the plunger assembly 20 passes.

As will be seen by reference to FIG. 3 and to FIG. 4, the purpose of thetwo paths 46A, 46B formed by the set of helical grooves 46 formed withinthe rigid tube 44 and shown in FIG. 4 is to interact with each end ofthe two arms extending from the body of the spinner sub-assembly 70 onthe top of the rotating flexible rod assembly 60.

The rotation imparted to the rotating flexible rod assembly 60 is causedby the engagement of one end 74 of the arms 72 extending from the body76 of the spinner sub-assembly 70 with one path of helical grooves 46formed within the rigid tube 44. FIG. 3 is an exploded view of thespinner sub-assembly 70 illustrating its construction.

As is best seen in FIG. 4, rotation of the spinner sub-assembly 70 iscaused by the engagement of helical guide bearings 78 positioned on eachend 74 of the arms 72 extending outwardly from the body 76 of thespinner sub-assembly 70 within a path within the set of helical grooves46 formed within the rigid tube 44. In the preferred embodiment, a guidebearing 78 is mounted on each end 74 of a single bearing shaft 75 whichextends through a hole 77 formed the body 76 which body 76 is shown inFIG. 3 as a hex coupling. Those of ordinary skill in the art willunderstand that multiple bearing shafts may be used if the needed numberof helical groove paths are formed within the rigid tube. Non-rotatablymounted to the bottom of the body 76 with a lock nut 80 is the flexiblerod 62 portion of the rotating flexible rod assembly 60. Thus, as thebody portion 76 of the spinner sub-assembly 70 turns so too will theflexible rod 62 turn.

The top of the body 76 of the spinner sub-assembly 70 is rotatablyattached to the bottom 24 of the extended length rod portion 22 of theplunger assembly 20 as shown in FIG. 4. A bearing 82 is used to assurethat he plunger shaft 22 will not rotate as the spinner sub-assembly 70is caused to turn by engagement with the set of helical grooves 46within the rigid tube 44. The bearing 82 is rotatably affixed to theinternally threaded housing 76 by the use of a threaded fastener 84 anda lock nut 86. The threaded fastener 84 includes a hole 85 if a singlebearing shaft 75 is used. The lock nut 86 keeps the threaded fastener 84in place without restricting the rotation of the bearing 82. The bottomof the extended length rod forms a socket 24 which fits over andfrictionally engages bearing 82.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that when axial forceis placed on the handle 26 on top of the plunger assembly 20, thespinner sub-assembly 70 will be made to turn as the bearings 78 on theend of the bearing shaft 75 engage the set of helical grooves 46 withinthe rigid tube 44. Because the two paths of helical grooves 46A, 46Bboth provide an internal path through the rigid tube 44, the spinnersub-assembly 70 will also move linearly through the rigid tube 44 as itrotates.

While the present invention is explained according to the spinnersub-assembly shown in FIG. 4, other configurations of spinnersub-assemblies may be used. For example, shown in FIG. 4A is analternate embodiment of the spinner sub-assembly 70A. In thisembodiment, a twisted square hollow shaft 71A passes through astationary ring cam 73A. Internal projections 75A within the stationaryring cam 73A impart a turning motion to the twisted square hollow shaft71A by contact with the paths 77A formed between the ridges whichsurround the twisted square hollow shaft 71A.

The linear movement of the spinner sub-assembly 70 shown in FIG. 4 orFIGS. 4A and 4B through the rigid tube 44 causes the rotating flexiblerod assembly 60 to move out of the central cylinder assembly 40 throughthe bottom boot sub-assembly 50 shown in FIG. 1. The bottom bootsub-assembly 50 shown in FIG. 5 is mounted to the bottom of the rigidtube 44. The bottom boot sub-assembly 50 may be angled at approximately45° as shown in FIG. 5 or at approximately 90° as shown in FIG. 1. Theupper portion of the bottom boot assembly 50 is an elbow 54 sized forinterfitment on the bottom of the rigid tube 44. Over the lower portionof the bottom boot sub-assembly 50 is the substantially conical flexibleboot 52 which is inserted into the drain opening at the bottom of thetoilet or urinal bowl. As indicated above, the bottom boot sub-assembly50 may be formed as part of the central cylinder assembly 40.

As explained above, various types of clog breakers may be mounted on thebottom of the flexible rod portion 62 of he rotating flexible rodassembly 60. As shown in FIG. 6, a plastic 65 covered spherical swiveldrop head 64 may be used as a clog breaker. The mounting of the plastic65 covered spherical swivel drop head 64 to the flexible rod 62 isaccomplished by the use of a connector 66. The connector 66 includes areceiver socket 67 at its upper portion for threadable engagement withthe bottom of the flexible rod 62. Alternatively, the connector 66 maybe crimped or pinned onto the end of the flexible rod 62. In the bottomof the connector 66 is an opening 68 for the insertion of a socketretainer 69. The socket retainer 69 is connected to the plastic 65covered spherical drop head 64. Those of ordinary skill in the art willunderstand that the clog breaker may be round, oval, spear-shaped orsome other shape which will facilitate the removal of blockages from thedrain pipes or plumbing fixtures of toilet and urinals. If desired theclog breaker may include cutting blades or ridges formed therearound.

In a first alternate embodiment 110 of the invention shown in FIG. 7,the foam sleeve or band 44 shown in FIG. 1 is not used for gripping thecentral cylinder assembly 120. In its place is a handle 141 affixed toan adjustable friction ring 143. The adjustable friction ring 143 ismounted around the exterior of the rigid tube 144. Loosening of theadjustable friction ring 143 will allow its placement on either side ofthe device 110 to accommodate either a left handed or a right handeduser. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that handleportion of the plunger assembly may be formed in a variety of differentshapes.

In a second alternate embodiment 210 of the invention shown in FIG. 8,the rigid tube 244 does not include a set of internal helical grooves246 along the entire length of its inside surface. Rather, the top end247 and the bottom end 249 of the rigid tube 244 include straightgrooves 251, 253 through which the bearings 278 on the ends of the armsof the spinner sub-assembly 270 may travel substantially linearly ontheir way through the rigid tube 244. In this embodiment the spinnersub-assembly 270 will first pass through the top end 247 of the rigid244 tube without turning, then the spinner sub-assembly 270 will turn asit passes through the set of helical grooves 246 within the rigid tube244, then again pass substantially linearly through the rigid tube 244without turning after exiting the portion of the rigid tube 244 with theset of helical grooves 246 formed therein.

In the third alternate embodiment 310 shown in FIG. 9, the plungerassembly 320 at the top of the central cylinder assembly includes twonested cylinders 331, 333 for telescopic interfitment within the centralcylinder assembly. As will be understood by those of ordinary skill inthe art, the inner cylinder portion 331 of the plunger assembly 320 iswithdrawn from the outer cylinder portion 333 of the plunger assembly320. A spring-loaded snap button 335 will allow the inner cylinder 331and the outer cylinder 333 to engage with one another. After the cloghas been cleared, the snap button 335 may be pushed and the innercylinder 331 is moved within the outer cylinder 333 to reduce the lengthof the plunger assembly 320.

In the fourth embodiment 410 shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, an extra longflexible rod 462 may be used. The extra length of flexible rod 462 isstored within a hollow rod portion 423 of the plunger assembly 420 shownin FIG. 10B and passes through the spinner sub-assembly 470. The hollowrod portion 423 may have a circular cross-section or a polygonalcross-section; for example, a square, hexagonal or octagonalcross-section may be used.

Connection of the flexible rod 462 with the hollow rod portion 423 ofthe plunger assembly 420 is accomplished by the use of a catch teesub-assembly 411 as shown in FIG. 10A. The catch tee sub-assembly 411 isnon-rotatably connected to the top of the flexible cable 462 by eithercrimping or by the use of a roll pin 412. Over the end of the flexiblerod 462 is a cylinder 413 which positions two spring-loaded catch pins414, 415.

The two spring loaded catch pins 414, 415 shown in FIG. 10A engageeither an upper pair of holes 416 or a lower pair of holes 417 formed inthe hollow rod portion 423 of the plunger assembly 420 as shown in FIG.10B. Thus, when an additional length of flexible rod 462 may be neededfor contacting a clog deep within a drain line, the spring loaded catchpins 414, 415 are pushed inwardly within the top pair of holes 416. Thecatch tee sub-assembly 411 is moved downwardly through the hollow rodportion 423 of the plunger assembly 420 to the bottom pair of holes 417by upwardly pulling on the hollow rod portion 423. This causes the extralength of flexible rod 462 stored within the hollow rod portion 423 ofthe plunger assembly 420 to be available for insertion into the drain.The hollow rod portion 423 also acts as a storage for the flexible rodwhen using a shorter length of flexible rod.

The entire hollow rod portion 423 of the plunger assembly 420 in thefourth embodiment 410 is non-rotatably mounted to the top of the spinnersub-assembly 470. Thus, as the spinner sub-assembly 470 turns byfollowing the set of helical grooves within the rigid tube as shown inFIG. 2A, so does the hollow rod portion 423 of the plunger assembly 420turn together with the flexible rod 462.

At the top of the hollow rod portion 423 of the plunger assembly 420 atee handle 418 is rotatably mounted thereto. Thus, as the plungerassembly 420 is moved downwardly and rotates together with the flexiblerod 462 into the central cylinder assembly, the hollow rod portion 423will rotate as the rotating flexible rod 462 moves into the drain pipeof plumbing fixture. However, the tee handle 418 will not turn withinthe user's hand.

Operation

A still further understanding of the present invention may be had by afurther review of its operation.

Users of the present invention will first experience that the fluidswithin the bowl portion of a toilet or urinal are either exiting thebowl slowly or not at all. Such fluid flow is an indication that thereis a partial or complete blockage within the drain pipe or plumbingfixture running from the bowl portion of toilet or urinal. Such partialor complete blockages may be caused by the flushing of paper towel or asolid object from the toilet or urinal bowl into the drain pipe orplumbing fixture. The paper towel or solid object may then become lodgedin the drain line from the bowl of the toilet or urinal therebyrestricting or blocking the free flow of fluid. When this occurs theblockage must be removed by the application of physical force along theaxis of the drain. In many situations the partial or complete blockageoccurs in the internal gas S-shaped gas trap portion of the toilet orurinal drain, found at the bottom of most toilets and urinals, whichinternal S-shaped gas trap is located just below the drain opening fromthe bowl portion of the toilet or urinal.

Operation of the device of the present invention begins by withdrawingthe plunger assembly out of the central cylinder assembly of theunclogging device. This withdrawal of the plunger assembly from thecentral cylinder assembly of the unclogging device pulls the rotatingflexible rod assembly back through the unclogging device and readies thelower portion of the unclogging device for placement in the drainopening at the bottom of the toilet or urinal bowl.

The bottom end of the flexible rod is placed into the drain until theflexible boot contacts the drain opening. Downward force is then placedon the plunger assembly. Contact of the flexible boot with the drainopening supports the unclogging device. The downward force on theplunger assembly causes the spinner sub-assembly to move through the setof helical grooves within the rigid tube. As explained above, the set ofhelical grooves within the rigid tube cause the spinner sub-assembly torotate. This rotation is imparted to the flexible rod and to the clogbreaker mounted on its end. The clog breaker engages the blockage orclog within the drain pipe or plumbing fixture. The user will feel thisengagement of the blockage or clog with the clog breaker as additionalforce being needed on the plunger assembly to maintain its rate oftravel through the central cylinder assembly. Typically, the blockagewill be cleared with the first engagement of the clog breaker with theblockage within the drain pipe or plumbing fixture. However, forstubborn blockages, it may be necessary to first withdraw the plungerassembly then re-insert the plunger assembly into the cylinder assemblytwo or more times to remove the clog or blockage.

When the clog or blockage has been removed from the toilet or urinaldrain pipe or plumbing fixture, most users will clean off the flexiblerod and then collapse the plunger assembly into the central cylinderassembly. For ease of cleaning the flexible rod may be coated withplastic. As shown in FIG. 1, the flexible rod may be placed alongsidethe central cylinder assembly and held there with a retaining clip orstored within the hollow rod as shown in the fourth embodiment. Those ofordinary skill in the art will understand that the flexible rod may besolid, may be a hollow cable, or may be an inner core cable.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will also understand that while thepresent invention has been explained according to its preferred andalternate embodiments, yet other modifications and embodiments of theinvention may still be made using the construction and operation of theinvention disclosed above. Such other modifications and embodimentsshall be included within the scope and meaning of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A toilet or urinal drain unclogging devicecomprising: a central cylinder assembly having a bottom and a top; aplunger assembly constructed and arranged for passage through said topof said cylinder assembly; a rotating flexible rod assembly constructedand arranged for exiting through said bottom of said central cylinderassembly; whereby rotation is imparted to said rotating flexible rodassembly by the interaction of a cam follower portion on said rotatingflexible rod assembly and a cam surface within said central cylinderassembly.
 2. The toilet or urinal drain unclogging device as defined inclaim 1 wherein said central cylinder assembly includes a rigid tubehaving helical grooves formed therein.
 3. The toilet or urinal drainunclogging device as defined in claim 1 wherein said central cylinderassembly includes a bottom boot subassembly connected to said centralcylinder assembly.
 4. The toilet or urinal drain unclogging device asdefined in claim 3 wherein said bottom boot subassembly includes asubstantially conical flexible boot for engagement with the opening tothe toilet or urinal drain.
 5. The toilet or urinal drain uncloggingdevice as defined in claim 1 further including a foam grip surroundingsaid central cylinder assembly.
 6. The toilet or urinal drain uncloggingdevice as defined in claim 1 further including a handle attached to saidcentral cylinder assembly.
 7. The toilet or urinal drain uncloggingdevice as defined in claim 2 wherein said rotating flexible rod assemblyfurther includes a spinner sub-assembly, said spinner sub-assemblyincluding a body portion and a plurality of arms extending outwardlyfrom said body portion.
 8. The toilet or urinal drain unclogging deviceas defined in claim 7 wherein the ends of said plurality of arms arefitted with bearings for engagement with said helical grooves formedwithin said central cylinder portion.
 9. The toilet or urinal drainunclogging device as defined in claim 1 wherein said rotation isimported to said rotating flexible rod assembly by a twisted rod passingthrough a stationary cam ring.
 10. The toilet or urinal drain uncloggingdevice as defined in claim 7 where said rotating flexible rod assemblyincludes a flexible rod non-rotatably mounted to said spinnersub-assembly.
 11. The toilet or urinal drain unclogging device asdefined in claim 7 wherein said plunger assembly includes a handle andan extended length rod portion, said extended length rod being rotatablyconnected to said spinner sub-assembly.
 12. The toilet or urinal drainunclogging device as defined in claim 2 wherein said helical groovesengage straight grooves also formed within said central cylinderassembly.
 13. The toilet or urinal drain unclogging device as defined inclaim 11 wherein said extended length rod portion of said plungerassembly includes a section for storage of a portion of a flexible rodtherein.
 14. The toilet or urinal drain unclogging device as defined inclaim 1 wherein said plunger assembly includes telescoping cylindersnested one within the other.
 15. A manual system for pushing androtating a flexible shaft into the drain of a toilet or urinal for thepurpose of exerting linear and rotating force against a blockage in saiddrain of a toilet or urinal, said manual system comprising: a spinnersub-assembly including: a central body portion; a plurality of armsextending outwardly from said central body portion, said ends of saidarms being constructed and arranged for engagement with internal helicalgrooves formed within a cylinder; a boot assembly constructed andarranged for engaging the drain of a toilet or urinal affixed to thebottom end of said cylinder; a plunger assembly for placing force onsaid spinner sub-assembly to cause said spinner sub-assembly to movethrough said cylinder and to rotate the flexible shaft while movingthrough said cylinder.
 16. A method for moving a rotating flexible rodinto the drain of a toilet or urinal for the purpose of removing ablockage in the drain of said toilet or urinal, said method comprisingthe steps of: non-rotatably mounting the flexible rod to a spinnersub-assembly; positioning said spinner sub-assembly within a set ofinternal helical grooves so that linear movement of said spinnerassembly through said internal helical grooves will cause said spinnersub-assembly to rotate; using a non-rotating plunger assembly mounted tosaid spinner sub-assembly to manually move said spinner sub-assemblythrough said internal threads; causing the rotating flexible rod to passthrough a boot sub-assembly, said boot sub-assembly being engageablewith the drain of the toilet or urinal.
 17. A device for removing clogsfrom a toilet or urinal bowl drain, said device comprising: aninternally threaded tube, said internally threaded hollow tube having acentral axis, a top portion and a bottom portion; a conical hollow drainopening engagement section; a clog breaker affixed to a flexible rod; aplunger constructed and arranged for passage through said internallythreaded tube; said top portion of said internally threaded hollow tubeincluding a cap for guiding the travel of said plunger; said bottomportion of said internally threaded hollow tube being affixed to saidconical hollow drain opening engagement section; a spinner for engagingsaid internal threads within said tube, said spinner having a topportion and a bottom portion; said top portion of said spinner beingrotatably connected to said plunger; said bottom portion of said spinnerbeing affixed to said flexible rod; whereby when said plunger causessaid spinner to pass through said internally threaded hollow tube, saiddrain cleaner swivel drop head will rotate as said flexible rod passesthrough said hollow drain opening engagement section.
 18. A device forremoving clogs in toilet or urinal drains, said device comprising: acylinder having an exterior surface, an internal surface includinghelical grooves, a top and a bottom; a stabilizing handle positionableon said exterior portion of said top of said cylinder; an angled bottomboot assembly affixed to said bottom of said cylinder; a collapsible ortelescoping handle/rod assembly constructed and arranged to pass throughsaid cylinder, said collapsible or telescoping handle/rod assemblyincluding: a rod having a top end and a bottom end; a handle affixed tosaid top end of said rod; a rotating spinner body affixed to said bottomend of said rod and extending to said grooved or rifled interior surfaceof said cylinder; a flexible rod attached to said spinner body; a swiveldrop head attached to said flexible rod on the opposite end from saidattachment to said spinner body; whereby by exerting force on saidhandle, said rotating spinner body will be caused to rotate byengagement with said grooves or rifling on the interior of said cylinderthereby causing said flexible rod and said swivel drop head to rotate assaid rotating spinner body passes through said cylinder and saidflexible rod passes through said angled bottom boot assembly on saidbottom end of said cylinder.